Sports Figure Lawn Ornament

ABSTRACT

A sports figure lawn ornament for improving the aesthetic appeal of a lawn. The lawn ornament includes an elongated stem with a first end and a second end. At the first end is a main body and at the second end is a tip configured to secure the lawn ornament to the ground. The main body includes a simulated torso, a simulated head, and a post extending perpendicularly therefrom. A simulated leg assembly includes an aperture and a first leg and a second leg extending from the aperture. The leg assembly slides onto the post such that the first leg and second leg can freely rotate about the aperture.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/327,514 filed on Apr. 26, 2016. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to lawn ornaments. More specifically, the present invention provides a sports figure shaped lawn ornament adapted to simulate a running athlete.

Many people utilize lawn ornaments to enhance the visual appeal of their yard. Often, these take the form of stationary structures staked into the ground. However, lawn ornaments that move via environmental effects, such as wind, can offer a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. Additionally, people enjoy showing support for their preferred sports teams. In order to address these concerns, a customizable lawn ornament that resembles a sports player with movable legs is provided.

Devices have been disclosed in the known art that relate to sports figures and lawn ornaments. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices in the known art have several known drawbacks. These devices fail to disclose a sports figure lawn ornament figurine with rotatably attached legs that move with the wind.

In light of the devices disclosed in the known art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the devices in the known art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing lawn ornament devices. In this regard, the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of lawn ornaments now present in the art, the present invention provides a new lawn ornament wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when increasing the aesthetic appeal of their lawns.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved lawn ornament that has all of the advantages of the known art and none of the disadvantages. The lawn ornament comprises an elongated stem including a main body disposed at a first end and a tip disposed at a second end, wherein the tip is configured for engagement with a ground surface. The main body includes a simulated torso and a simulated head, wherein a post extends perpendicularly from the main body. A simulated leg assembly comprising a first leg and a second leg extends from an aperture configured to slidably engage with the post. When engaged with the post, the simulated leg assembly is configured to rotate about the aperture along a vertical plane. In some embodiments, the first and second legs are disposed 180 degrees from each other. In other embodiments, the first and second leg are angled between 10 and 30 degrees relative to the vertical plane such that they are configured to be driven by wind.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the sports figure lawn ornament.

FIG. 2 shows a side perspective view of the sports figure lawn ornament.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the sports figure lawn ornament.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the sports figure lawn ornament.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the sports figure lawn ornament.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the lawn ornament. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for increasing the aesthetic appeal of a lawn. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of the sports figure lawn ornament. The lawn ornament 11 comprises an elongated stem 12 having a first end 13 and a second end 14. A main body 15 is disposed on the first end 13 and a tip 18 is disposed on the second end 14. The tip 18 includes a pointed end configured to pierce and engage a ground surface. The main body 15 includes a torso 16 and a head 17. In the illustrated embodiment, the torso 16 and head 17 are shaped like a football player, although alternate sports configurations are possible, such as a baseball player, basketball player, and the like. A post 19 extends outwardly from the main body 15. In the shown embodiment, the post 19 extend perpendicularly from the main body 15 and perpendicularly relative to the elongated stem 12. However, in alternative embodiments, the post 19 may extend from the main body 15 at any angle. A leg assembly 20 comprises an aperture 23 wherein a first leg 21 and a second leg 22 extend radially outwardly therefrom. In the illustrated embodiment, the first leg 21 and the second leg 22 are disposed at a 180-degree angle from each other. However, in an alternative embodiment, the legs 21, 22 may be oriented at any angle relative to each other.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a side perspective view of the sports figure lawn ornament. In the illustrated embodiment, the main body 15 is planar and includes a first side 24 and a second side 25. In the illustrated embodiment, the post 19 extends perpendicularly outwards relative the first side 24, and the first end is attached to the second side 25 of the main body 15. The aperture 23 slidably engages with the post 19. When engaged, the aperture 23 rotatably couples to the post 19, such that the first leg 21 and the second leg 22 are configured to rotate about the post 19 when engaged with the aperture 23 along a vertical plane 26, simulating a running motion. In the illustrated embodiment, a stopper 28 is disposed on the post 19 to prevent the leg assembly from disengaging from the post 19. In some embodiments, the first leg 21 and second leg 22 are disposed at opposing angles theta 29 relative to the vertical plane 26, such that the first leg 21 is disposed at positive theta 29 relative to the vertical plane 26 and the second leg 22 is disposed at negative theta 29 relative to the vertical plane 26. The direction of the angle theta 29 relative to the vertical plane 26 is referred to as both positive theta or negative theta, however these angles may have similar or varying degrees of rotation. Either the first leg 21 or the second leg 22 can be disposed at the positive theta 29 orientation, so long as the remaining leg is disposed at the negative theta 29 orientation. Preferably, the angle theta 29 is in the range of 10 to 30 degrees, inclusively. In the illustrated embodiment, the rotation of the leg assembly 20 is configured to be driven by wind 27.

In one use, the lawn ornament 11 is assembled such that when the tip 18 is driven into a ground surface, the first side 24 is disposed perpendicularly to the direction of the wind 27. The leg assembly is rotatably coupled to the post 19 on the first side 24 of the main body 15. Due to the first leg 21 and the second leg 22 being tilted at opposing angles theta 29 relative to the vertical plane 26, the wind 27 exerts a centripetal force on the first leg 21 and the second leg 22 relative to the aperture 23, thereby rotating the leg assembly 20 around the post 19, simulating a running motion.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, there are shown a perspective view of multiple embodiments of the sports figure lawn ornament. In the shown embodiments, the sports figure lawn ornament 11 comprises a main body 15 includes the torso 16 and head 17 are shaped like a sport players, such as a baseball, soccer, and hockey players, respectively.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

I claim:
 1. A lawn ornament comprising: an elongated stem having a main body disposed at a first end and a tip disposed at a second end; the main body including a simulated torso and simulated head, wherein a post extends from the main body; a simulated leg assembly including a first leg, a second leg, and an aperture, wherein the first leg and the second leg extend radially outwardly relative to the aperture; the aperture configured to slidably engage with the post; the first leg and the second leg configured to rotate about the post along a vertical plane when engaged with the aperture.
 2. The lawn ornament of claim 1, wherein the first leg and the second leg are disposed 180 degrees from each other.
 3. The lawn ornament of claim 1, wherein the post extends perpendicularly from a first side of the main body, the leg assembly is disposed on a first side of the main body.
 4. The lawn ornament of claim 1, wherein the first leg and the second leg are angled between 10 and 30 degrees relative to the vertical plane.
 5. The lawn ornament of claim 1, wherein the main body is planar.
 6. The lawn ornament of claim 1, wherein the first leg and the second leg are configured to be driven via wind.
 7. The lawn ornament of claim 1, wherein the tip is pointed and configured for engagement with a ground surface. 